Hurricane Ike Causes Flooding In Parts Of Bay Area

Tides pushed by Hurricane Ike surged two to three feet above normal this morning, causing minor flooding in low areas and battering some shoreline roads farther south.

The flooding was more severe south of Tampa Bay, closer to the passing storm.

The storm tide submerged roads across Sarasota County and its barrier islands during the morning high tide. Waves 4 to 6 feet high wreaked havoc along the coast. Chunks of unstable asphalt on North Beach Road gave way to rough surf that pounded across the road and into front yards early today.

The county also issued a rip tide warning through Friday. Sarasota County's emergency management officials estimated gusts reached up to 39 mph.

Beaches already were eroded by Hurricane Gustav and Tropical Storm Fay Those two storms cost Turtle Beach, on southern Siesta Key, 40 to 50 feet of beach. The loss of sand at Longboat Key is estimated at 100,000 cubic yards along its 10 miles of beach.

The National Weather Service received reports of street flooding in Shore Acres in Pinellas County and of water pushing over docks in St. Pete Beach.

There was minor road flooding in Manatee County's Holmes Beach.

Also, water topped the sea wall in Tampa along portions of Bayshore Boulevard and downtown.

It caused some trouble for the CapTrust Financial Advisors building on Whiting Street along the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa.

Water leaking through a sea wall and pouring in from openings in the sea wall that directs stormwater from downtown to the river dumped up to 4 inches of water into a basement parking area.

Workers ran pumps for hours to keep up with the rising tide, which began to ebb about noon.

As the tide goes out this afternoon, it won't drop as far as normal. Low tide will be about 2 feet above usual levels, Cantin said.

Tonight's high tide, about 10 p.m., isn't expected to cause flooding, and water should rise about a foot less than this morning.

Thursday morning, areas that saw flooding today can expect to see it again.

Although Ike is more than 300 miles south-southwest of Tampa, winds swirling around the storm are piling water against the state's west coast.

The weather service issued a coastal flood advisory this morning, saying tides should be up to three feet above normal through Thursday evening.

By Thursday night, the threat of coastal flooding should diminish, Cantin said.